Award-winning, best-selling author, evolutionary biologist, and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould takes the art of the essay to an unprecedented height of excellence in this vibrant collection of writings on science and natural history. From fads to fungus, baseball to beeswax, Gould always circles back to the great themes of time, change, and history, carrying listeners home to the centering theme of evolution. These unabridged selections were originally published in
Natural History magazine.

1 out of 5 stars

This is trivial pursuit training

By
jose
on
11-14-17

Full House

The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin

By:
Stephen Jay Gould

Narrated by:
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
87

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
37

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
37

We have always identified trends as bad (loosening of the moral fiber) or good (better ethnic eating in urban areas). But Stephen Jay Gould argues that this mode of interpretation is a bias that needs correcting. In
Full House, Gould presents the truth about progress, evolution, and excellence, as well as a different way to understand trends other than as entities moving in a definite direction.

4 out of 5 stars

One of my favoritess

By
Erik
on
04-28-04

The Mismeasure of Man

By:
Stephen Jay Gould

Narrated by:
Arthur Morey

Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
88

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
74

Story

4 out of 5 stars
73

When published in 1981,
The Mismeasure of Man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, rank them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits. Yet the idea of of biology as destiny dies hard, as witness the attention devoted to
The Bell Curve, whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and eye opening

By
Wolfe
on
09-03-12

Rocks of Ages

Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life

By:
Stephen Jay Gould

Narrated by:
Richard McGonagle

Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
81

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
34

Story

4 out of 5 stars
34

In this fascinating history of the age-old battle between Science and Religion, evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould argues that part of living the full human experience is achieving a balance between the spiritual and the rational."

3 out of 5 stars

Tame and bland compared to his other books

By
John Mertus
on
01-15-05

Questioning the Millennium

A Rationalist's Guide to a Precisely Arbitrary Countdown

By:
Stephen Jay Gould

Narrated by:
Efrem Zimbalist

Length: 3 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

3.5 out of 5 stars
5

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
2

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
3

The best selling author and evolutionary scientist holds the mirror up to all of our millennial passions in this wide-ranging discussion that reveals our foibles, absurdities, and uniqueness - in other words, our humanity.

Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science

By:
The Great Courses,
Robert Sapolsky

Narrated by:
Professor Robert Sapolsky

Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins

Original Recording

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,026

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
905

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
900

Understanding our humanity - the essence of who we are - is one of the deepest mysteries and biggest challenges in modern science. Why do we have bad moods? Why are we capable of having such strange dreams? How can metaphors in our language hold such sway on our actions? As we learn more about the mechanisms of human behavior through evolutionary biology, neuroscience, anthropology, and other related fields, we're discovering just how intriguing the human species is.

4 out of 5 stars

Human And Loving It!

By
Gillian
on
07-28-15

Dinosaur in a Haystack

Reflections in Natural History

By:
Stephen Jay Gould

Narrated by:
Meredith MacRae,
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins

Unabridged

Overall

3.5 out of 5 stars
5

Performance

3 out of 5 stars
4

Story

4 out of 5 stars
4

Award-winning, best-selling author, evolutionary biologist, and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould takes the art of the essay to an unprecedented height of excellence in this vibrant collection of writings on science and natural history. From fads to fungus, baseball to beeswax, Gould always circles back to the great themes of time, change, and history, carrying listeners home to the centering theme of evolution. These unabridged selections were originally published in
Natural History magazine.

1 out of 5 stars

This is trivial pursuit training

By
jose
on
11-14-17

Full House

The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin

By:
Stephen Jay Gould

Narrated by:
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
87

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
37

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
37

We have always identified trends as bad (loosening of the moral fiber) or good (better ethnic eating in urban areas). But Stephen Jay Gould argues that this mode of interpretation is a bias that needs correcting. In
Full House, Gould presents the truth about progress, evolution, and excellence, as well as a different way to understand trends other than as entities moving in a definite direction.

4 out of 5 stars

One of my favoritess

By
Erik
on
04-28-04

The Mismeasure of Man

By:
Stephen Jay Gould

Narrated by:
Arthur Morey

Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
88

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
74

Story

4 out of 5 stars
73

When published in 1981,
The Mismeasure of Man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, rank them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits. Yet the idea of of biology as destiny dies hard, as witness the attention devoted to
The Bell Curve, whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and eye opening

By
Wolfe
on
09-03-12

Rocks of Ages

Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life

By:
Stephen Jay Gould

Narrated by:
Richard McGonagle

Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
81

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
34

Story

4 out of 5 stars
34

In this fascinating history of the age-old battle between Science and Religion, evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould argues that part of living the full human experience is achieving a balance between the spiritual and the rational."

3 out of 5 stars

Tame and bland compared to his other books

By
John Mertus
on
01-15-05

Questioning the Millennium

A Rationalist's Guide to a Precisely Arbitrary Countdown

By:
Stephen Jay Gould

Narrated by:
Efrem Zimbalist

Length: 3 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

3.5 out of 5 stars
5

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
2

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
3

The best selling author and evolutionary scientist holds the mirror up to all of our millennial passions in this wide-ranging discussion that reveals our foibles, absurdities, and uniqueness - in other words, our humanity.

Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science

By:
The Great Courses,
Robert Sapolsky

Narrated by:
Professor Robert Sapolsky

Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins

Original Recording

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,026

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
905

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
900

Understanding our humanity - the essence of who we are - is one of the deepest mysteries and biggest challenges in modern science. Why do we have bad moods? Why are we capable of having such strange dreams? How can metaphors in our language hold such sway on our actions? As we learn more about the mechanisms of human behavior through evolutionary biology, neuroscience, anthropology, and other related fields, we're discovering just how intriguing the human species is.

4 out of 5 stars

Human And Loving It!

By
Gillian
on
07-28-15

How the Mind Works

By:
Steven Pinker

Narrated by:
Mel Foster

Length: 26 hrs and 9 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
1,045

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
857

Story

4 out of 5 stars
844

In this delightful, acclaimed bestseller, one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational—and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness?

4 out of 5 stars

Excellent, but a difficult listen.

By
David
on
12-11-11

From Bacteria to Bach and Back

The Evolution of Minds

By:
Daniel C. Dennett

Narrated by:
Tom Perkins

Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
428

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
374

Story

4 out of 5 stars
373

What is human consciousness, and how is it possible? This question fascinates thinking people from poets and painters to physicists, psychologists, and philosophers.
From Bacteria to Bach and Back is Daniel C. Dennett's brilliant answer, extending perspectives from his earlier work in surprising directions, exploring the deep interactions of evolution, brains, and human culture.

5 out of 5 stars

How come there is a 'me'?

By
Mark
on
03-15-17

The Language Instinct

How the Mind Creates Language

By:
Steven Pinker

Narrated by:
Arthur Morey

Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
651

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
545

Story

4 out of 5 stars
536

In this classic, the world’s expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution.
The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association....

5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Amazing and Interesting

By
J. C.
on
10-28-12

The Sixth Extinction

An Unnatural History

By:
Elizabeth Kolbert

Narrated by:
Anne Twomey

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,959

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
2,653

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,631

A major audiobook about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes. Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

5 out of 5 stars

Lifts you out of the ordinary

By
Regina
on
04-28-14

Other Minds

The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness

By:
Peter Godfrey-Smith

Narrated by:
Peter Noble

Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
411

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
362

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
364

Although mammals and birds are widely regarded as the smartest creatures on earth, it has lately become clear that a very distant branch of the tree of life has also sprouted higher intelligence: the cephalopods, consisting of the squid, the cuttlefish, and above all the octopus. In captivity, octopuses have been known to identify individual human keepers, raid neighboring tanks for food, turn off lightbulbs by spouting jets of water, plug drains, and make daring escapes.

5 out of 5 stars

Empathy for an Octopus?

By
Chris Geschwantner
on
05-31-17

The Blind Watchmaker

Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design

By:
Richard Dawkins

Narrated by:
Richard Dawkins,
Lalla Ward

Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,766

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,516

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,491

The Blind Watchmaker, knowledgably narrated by author Richard Dawkins, is as prescient and timely a book as ever. The watchmaker belongs to the 18th-century theologian William Paley, who argued that just as a watch is too complicated and functional to have sprung into existence by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. Charles Darwin's brilliant discovery challenged the creationist arguments; but only Richard Dawkins could have written this elegant riposte.

4 out of 5 stars

Challenging textbook more than an enjoyable listen

By
Eric
on
01-15-12

Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs

The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe

By:
Lisa Randall

Narrated by:
Carrington MacDuffie

Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
261

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
238

Story

4 out of 5 stars
235

Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, along with three-quarters of the other species on the planet. What was its origin? In
Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Lisa Randall proposes it was a comet that was dislodged from its orbit as the solar system passed through a disk of dark matter embedded in the Milky Way. In a sense it might have been dark matter that killed the dinosaurs.

4 out of 5 stars

SOME LIGHT ON DARK MATTER

By
Ray
on
11-22-15

The Demon-Haunted World

Science as a Candle in the Dark

By:
Carl Sagan

Narrated by:
Cary Elwes,
Seth MacFarlane

Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
779

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
713

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
708

How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don't understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions.

5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal

By
Alex
on
10-24-17

Red Mars

By:
Kim Stanley Robinson

Narrated by:
Richard Ferrone

Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
2,643

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
1,922

Story

4 out of 5 stars
1,938

Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel,
Red Mars is the first book in Kim Stanley Robinson's best-selling trilogy.
Red Mars is praised by scientists for its detailed visions of future technology. It is also hailed by authors and critics for its vivid characters and dramatic conflicts.

For centuries, the red planet has enticed the people of Earth. Now an international group of scientists has colonized Mars. Leaving Earth forever, these 100 people have traveled nine months to reach their new home. This is the remarkable story of the world they create - and the hidden power struggles of those who want to control it.

4 out of 5 stars

The first Mars colony

By
David
on
05-17-14

Lab Girl

By:
Hope Jahren

Narrated by:
Hope Jahren

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,000

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,849

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,849

Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she's studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book might have been a revelatory treatise on plant life.
Lab Girl is that, but it is also so much more. Because in it, Jahren also shares with us her inspiring life story, in prose that takes your breath away.

5 out of 5 stars

A paradigm-shifting perspective on plant life

By
J. Robinson
on
05-20-16

The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke

By:
Arthur C. Clarke

Narrated by:
Ray Porter,
Jonathan Davis,
Ralph Lister

Length: 51 hrs and 9 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
374

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
344

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
344

From early work like "Rescue Party" and "The Lion of Comarre", through classic stories including "The Star", "Earthlight", "The Nine Billion Names of God", and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey), all the way to later work like "A Meeting with Medusa" and "The Hammer of God", this comprehensive short story collection encapsulates one of the great science fiction careers of all time.

5 out of 5 stars

List of stories from

By
KW Charlie
on
09-15-16

Science in the Soul

Selected Writings of a Passionate Rationalist

By:
Richard Dawkins

Narrated by:
Richard Dawkins,
Lalla Ward,
Gillian Somerscales

Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
293

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
270

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
270

For decades Richard Dawkins has been the world's most brilliant scientific communicator, consistently illuminating the wonders of nature and attacking faulty logic.
Science in the Soul brings together 42 essays, polemics, and paeans - culled from personal papers, newspapers, lectures, and online salons - all written with Dawkins' characteristic erudition, remorseless wit, and unjaded awe of the natural world.

5 out of 5 stars

Wide in scope - an engaging view into Dawkins

By
Dennis A Robinson
on
08-10-17

Publisher's Summary

In this essay collection, Stephen Jay Gould examines the puzzles and paradoxes great and small that build nature's and humanity's diversity and order. He formulates a humanistic natural history, one that considers how humans have learned to study and understand nature, rather than a history of nature itself. And through short biographies, Gould depicts how scholars grapple with problems of science and philosophy and illuminates the interaction of the outer world with the unique human ability to struggle to understand the whys and wherefores of existence. This collection is the first of the final 3 essay collections from Gould, who has announced that the series will end with the turn of the millennium.

Story

Thoughtful and entertaining

Written by the brilliant and entertaining Stephen Jay Gould, and narrated by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., it's hard to go wrong. This book delivers Gould's insightful commentaries on evolutionary biology, begining with a discussion of art, science, and the real reasons why Leonardo daVinci wrote extensively on marine fossils found in montane regions. An essay on the Diet of Worms leads into the defenestration (that is, "chucking out the window") of religious leaders, and on to why it's a pity that Columbus didn't drop a few snails in his pocket, that we might know with more certainty where he actually landed (and, incidentally, instigated the genocidal campaign that wiped out the friendly natives who greeted him). A look into the minds of sloths and vultures and the early naturalists who held them in contempt comes near the end, and the book concludes with an essay on science itself.